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- <head>
- <title>Choosing a Phone - Android Accessibility</title>
- <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="style.css">
- </head>
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- <div id="main_body">
- <h1>Choosing a phone</h1>
- <div class="nav">
- <div class="nav_back"> </div>
- <div class="nav_up"><a href="index.html">Up: Android Accessibility</a></div>
- <div class="nav_next"><a href="enabling.html">Next: Enabling
- Accessibility</a></div>
- </div>
- <p>There are more than 50 phones worldwide (as of August 2010) that run
- versions of the Android operating system. We will list a few of the more
- popular models below, but here are the most important things to know before
- choosing an accessible phone:</p>
- <p>1. <strong>Android version</strong>. Each phone comes with a particular
- version of the Android operating system. While the operating system version can
- be upgraded at a later date, it is up to the individual carriers to make such
- updates available. Since it is hard to predict when these updates will occur,
- you should plan on purchasing a phone that already has features that you will
- be happy with. The following is a list of available Android versions.</p>
- <p>Android versions are sometimes referred to by their code names, which are
- generally names of desserts starting with a successive letter of the
- alphabet.</p>
- <p>
- <ul>
- <li>Android 1.5: Cupcake
- <li>Android 1.6: Donut
- <li>Android 2.0 or 2.1: Eclair
- <li>Android 2.2: Froyo (short for frozen yogurt)
- <li>Android 2.3: Gingerbread
- <li>Android 3.1: Honeycomb
- <li>Android 4.0: Ice Cream Sandwich
- </ul>
- </p>
- <p>Android 1.6 was the first version with accessibility support. Support was
- substantially improved in Android 2.0, and support for touchscreen-only devices
- was added in Android 4.0 For more information about what accessibility features
- were introduced in each version, see the <a href="versions.html">Android
- Version Guide</a>.</p>
- <div class="note"><span class="n">Important note: </span><p>Carriers and device
- manufacturers will sometimes create customized versions of the Android
- operating system. For example, HTC often ships phones that include a custom
- user interface called HTC Sense. Unfortunately, there is <strong>no
- guarantee</strong> that devices with customized Android operating systems
- include accessibility support. </p>
- <p>If you are wondering whether a particular device includes support for
- accessibility, you can check the list below. If the phone isn't listed there,
- it is best to check with the carrier or device manufacturer. Also, Wikipedia
- has a fairly comprehensive <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Android_devices">list of Android devices</a> including information on
- the version number and whether or not there is a keyboard.</p>
- <p>And be aware that even if a phone running a custom version of Android does
- include accessibility, the operating system may still have been altered
- enough that specific instructions in this guide may still not apply.</p></div>
- <p>2. <strong>Keyboard and tactile buttons.</strong> Android phones come in
- a variety of different physical configurations. A physical QWERTY keyboard and
- other tactile buttons can make it easier to perform certain actions without
- using touch-screen controls. The following is a list of physical buttons that
- you might find on an Android phone:
- <ul>
- <li>Start call
- <li>End call
- <li>Back
- <li>Menu
- <li>Home
- <li>Search
- <li>Camera
- <li>Volume up / down
- <li>Power
- <li>Directional pad or trackball and select button
- <li>QWERTY keyboard
- </ul>
- </p>
- <p>The number of physical, tactile controls varies significantly by phone
- model. We recommend that you try out a phone at your local store to determine
- if it works well for you. If that is impossible, you can find detailed specs
- online and find a phone that has the keys that matter the most to you.</p>
- <p>Some phones have touch keys, also known as capacitive keys. These keys are
- invisible and feel like they're part of the screen, but they're actually
- separate, discrete regions. The phone gives you haptic (vibrational) feedback
- when you press one of these keys successfully, but it can be hard to position
- your finger in the right place before you get the feedback. Some people put a
- small piece of tape over the keys to make them more tactile.</p>
- <h2>Known-accessible Android phones with "Explore by touch" (as of December
- 2011)</h2>
- <p>The following devices run Android 4.0 or above and are touchscreen-accessible
- via the "Explore by touch" feature.</p>
- <ul>
- <li><strong>Galaxy Nexus</strong> (Android 4.0)
- <ul>
- <li>The first Android device with "Explore by touch" for accessible use
- without a hardware keyboard.</li>
- <li>Has only three tactile buttons (power, volume up, and volume down).
- The Back, Home, Recent Apps, and Menu buttons appear at the bottom of
- the touchscreen and are touch explorable.</li>
- <li>On-screen keyboard is touch explorable.</li>
- <li>Very fast and powerful.</li>
- <li>In the U.S., available on Verizon.</li>
- </li>
- </ul>
- </ul>
- <h2>Known-accessible Android phones with keyboards (as of August 2010)</h2>
- <p>The following devices are our top recommendations for accessible phones.
- All have full QWERTY keyboards and are known to work well. For each device
- we've included a description of the physical tactile buttons and any touch
- (capacitive) buttons and their locations on the device.</p>
- <ul>
- <li><strong>T-Mobile G2</strong> (Android 2.2)
- <ul>
- <li><div class="note"><span class="n">Please note:</span> Though this
- phone is running the standard Android 2.2 operating system and includes
- accessibility support, it does not come with TalkBack pre-installed. You
- will have to install TalkBack from the Android Market yourself. You will
- be guided through this process if you go to the Accessibility menu in the
- Settings. For more information on this process, see the section on
- <a href="enabling.html">Enabling Accessibility</a>.</div></li>
- <li>Four touch buttons in a row below the screen for home, menu, back,
- and search.</li>
- <li>Beneath the touch buttons, there is a square flat touchpad. You can
- move your finger over the touchpad to navigate left, right, up, and
- down. The touchpad is clickable and functions as an enter key.</li>
- <li>The touchpad can access everything that a directional pad can.</li>
- <li>Slide-out tactile keyboard with thin soft keys.</li>
- <li>The keyboard includes a QWERTY keyboard and tactile menu and search
- keys.</li>
- <li>The keyboard also includes three programmable tactile keys, one
- located on the left of the spacebar and two on the right. Pressing one
- of the programmable keys will take you to a menu where you can choose
- an application or action to be associated with the key.</li>
- <li>The keyboard does not have a directional pad or arrow keys.</li>
- <li>There is no dedicated number row at the top of the letter keys. To
- type numbers, you have to use the ALT keys.</li>
- <li>Does not have a start or end call button. However, you have the
- option to use the power button as the end call button. You can activate
- this option in the settings menu.</li>
- <li>The volume rocker and camera buttons are physical buttons located
- along the top left and bottom right sides of the phone, respectively.
- The power button is located along the top edge.</li>
- <li>The phone is very fast and powerful.</li>
- <li>In the U.S., available on T-Mobile.</li>
- </ul>
- </li>
- <li><strong>LG Ally</strong> (Android 2.1)
- <ul>
- <li>Tactile buttons on the front for start call,
- home, menu, and end call. There are touch keys above those for back and
- search.</li>
- <li>Slide-out tactile keyboard with large raised keys that are very easy
- to type on.</li>
- <li>When you slide out the keyboard, you get a QWERTY keyboard, a
- four-direction pad with a select button in the center, and tactile
- buttons for back, home, menu, and search.</li>
- <li>Includes a dedicated number row at the top of the letter
- keys.</li>
- <li>Includes every physical button mentioned in the section above. The
- volume rocker and camera buttons are physical buttons located on the
- sides of the phone. The power button is located along the top edge.</li>
- <li>Moderately fast and powerful.</li>
- <li>In the U.S., this is available on Verizon.</li>
- </ul>
- </li>
- <li><strong>Samsung Epic 4G</strong> (Custom Android 2.1)
- <ul>
- <li><div class="note"><span class="n">Please note:</span> This
- phone runs a customized version of Android 2.1. However, this phone does
- include support for accessibility, and TalkBack is included. But keep in
- mind that not all applications bundled with this phone by the carrier or
- Samsung are accessible. For more information on accessible
- applications, please see the <a href="apps.html"> the section on
- apps</a>.</div></li>
- <li>Four touch buttons in a row below the screen for menu, home, back,
- and search.</li>
- <li>Large slide-out tactile keyboard with raised keys.</li>
- <li>The keyboard features a QWERTY keyboard, PC-style tactile arrow keys
- and a separate enter button, and tactile buttons for menu, back, home,
- and search.</li>
- <li>Includes a dedicated number row at the top of the letter keys.
- </li>
- <li>Does not have a start or end call button.</li>
- <li>The volume rocker and camera buttons are physical buttons located on
- the left and right sides of the phone respectively. The power button
- is located along the top edge.</li>
- <li>The phone is very fast and powerful.</li>
- <li>In the U.S., available on Sprint.</li>
- </ul>
- </li>
- <li><strong>Motorola Droid (US) / Milestone (Europe)</strong> (Android
- 2.2)
- <ul>
- <li>Four large touch buttons in a row below the screen for back, menu,
- home, and search.</li>
- <li>Slide-out tactile keyboard, though the keys are very flat and not
- very easy to find by touch.</li>
- <li>The slide-out keyboard has a QWERTY keyboard, a four-direction pad
- with a select button in the center, and tactile buttons for search and
- menu. The four-direction pad is almost flush with the keyboard surface
- and can be difficult to use.</li>
- <li>There is no dedicated number row at the top of the letter
- keys. To type numbers, you have to put the keyboard in symbol mode</li>
- <li>Does not have a start or end call button. However, you have the
- option to use the power button as the end call button. You can activate
- this option in the settings menu.</li>
- <li>The volume rocker and camera buttons are physical buttons located
- on the right side of the phone. The power button is located along the
- top edge.
- <li>The phone is very fast and powerful.</li>
- <li>In the U.S., this is available on Verizon.</li>
- </ul>
- </li>
- <li><strong>Motorola Droid 2</strong> (Custom Android 2.2)
- <ul>
- <li><div class="note"><span class="n">Please note:</span> This
- phone runs a customized version of Android 2.2. However, this phone does
- include support for accessibility, and Motorola has even included a few
- applications targeted for users with low or no vision. But keep in mind
- that not all applications bundled with this phone by the carrier or
- Motorola are accessible. For more information on accessible
- applications, please see the <a href="apps.html"> the section on
- apps</a>.</div></li>
- <li>Four small touch buttons in a row below the screen for menu, home,
- back, and search.</li>
- <li>Slide-out tactile keyboard with raised keys.</li>
- <li>The keyboard features PC-style tactile arrow keys and a
- separate OK button.</li>
- <li>The keyboard includes tactile buttons for search and
- back. It also includes a special microphone tactile button that
- triggers a custom Motorola voice search application.</li>
- <li>There is no dedicated number row at the top of the
- letter keys. To type numbers, you have to put the keyboard in
- symbol mode.</li>
- <li>This device does not have a start or end call button, but you have
- the option to use the power button as the end call button. You can
- activate this option in the settings menu.</li>
- <li>The volume rocker and camera buttons are physical buttons located on
- the right side of the phone. The power button is located along the
- top edge.</li>
- <li>The phone is very fast and powerful.</li>
- <li>In the U.S., this is available on Verizon.</li>
- </ul>
- </li>
- <li><strong>HTC Dream / HTC G1</strong> (Android 1.6)
- <ul>
- <li><div class="note"><span class="n">Please note: </span>This is a
- first-generation phone, and it is slower and less powerful than most
- newer phones. Though is not expected to ever be upgraded to Android 2.0,
- basic accessibility features do work on Android 1.6.</div></li>
- <li>Four round tactile buttons and a clickable trackball in a row below
- the screen: start call, home, trackball, back, and end call. There is
- also a rectangular tactile menu botton located above the trackball. When
- held down, the end call button functions as the power on/off button.</li>
- <li>The trackball can access everything that a directional pad can, but
- it can be difficult to move it precisely without being able to see the
- screen.</li>
- <li>Slide-out tactile keyboard with thin but raised keys.</li>
- <li>The keyboard includes a QWERTY keyboard and tactile menu and search
- keys.</li>
- <li>Includes a dedicated number row at the top of the letter
- keys.</li>
- <li>Includes every physical button mentioned in the section above. The
- volume rocker and camera buttons are physical buttons located on the
- sides of the phone. The power button is located on the front and doubles
- as the end call button.</li>
- <li>In the U.S., this is available on T-Mobile.</li>
- </ul>
- </li>
- </ul>
- <h2>Phones with keyboards - accessibility unknown</h2>
- <ul>
- <li><strong>Motorola Droid Pro</strong> (Unreleased)
- <ul>
- <li>Accessibility unknown - please
- <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/eyes-free/">let us know</a> if
- you've tried it.</li>
- </ul>
- </li>
- <li><strong>Motorola CHARM</strong> (Android 2.1)
- <ul>
- <li>In the U.S., available on T-Mobile.</li>
- <li>Accessibility unknown - please
- <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/eyes-free/">let us know</a> if
- you've tried it.</li>
- </ul>
- </li>
- <li><strong>T-Mobile MyTouch 3G Slide</strong> (Custom Android 2.1)
- <ul>
- <li>This is an example of a phone with a custom operating system.
- However, some users have reported that they have been able to use it
- successfully. If you have more specific information,
- <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/eyes-free/">let us know</a>.</li>
- <li>If the same phone, the HTC Espresso, is sold elsewhere in the
- world with an accessible version of Android, please
- <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/eyes-free/">let us know</a>.</li>
- </ul>
- </li>
- <li><strong>Motorola Devour</strong> (Android 1.6)
- <ul>
- <li>In the U.S., available on Verizon.</li>
- <li>Accessibility unknown - please
- <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/eyes-free/">let us know</a> if
- you've tried it.</li>
- </ul>
- </li>
- <li><strong>Samsung Intercept</strong> (Android 2.1)
- <ul>
- <li>In the U.S., available on Sprint.</li>
- <li>Accessibility unknown - please
- <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/eyes-free/">let us know</a> if
- you've tried it.</li>
- </ul>
- </li>
- </ul>
- <h2>Phones with keyboards that may not be accessible</h2>
- <p>The following phones have QWERTY keyboards but are known to have
- accessibility issues.</p>
- <ul>
- <li><strong>Motorola CLIQ / DEXT</strong> (Android 1.5)
- <ul><li>Android 1.5 has no accessibility features.</li></ul>
- <li><strong>Motorola Backflip</strong> (Android 1.5)
- <ul><li>Android 1.5 has no accessibility features.</li></ul>
- <li><strong>LG InTouch Max</strong> (Android 1.5)
- <ul><li>Android 1.5 has no accessibility features.</li></ul>
- </ul>
- <h2>Phones without keyboards</h2>
- <p>With the exception of devices running Android 4.0 and above, we do not
- recommend Android phones without keyboards for accessibility. For your
- reference, here is a partial list of some of the more popular Android phones
- that <b>do not</b> have a keyboard.</p>
- <ul>
- <li><strong>Acer</strong> (all models)</li>
- <li><strong>Dell</strong> (all models)</li>
- <li><strong>Garminfone</strong></li>
- <li><strong>GeeksPhone One</strong></li>
- <li><strong>General Mobile DSTL1</strong></li>
- <li><strong>HTC Aria</strong></li>
- <li><strong>HTC Desire</strong></li>
- <li><strong>HTC Droid Eris</strong></li>
- <li><strong>HTC Droid Incredible</strong></li>
- <li><strong>HTC EVO 4G</strong></li>
- <li><strong>HTC Hero</strong></li>
- <li><strong>HTC Magic / T-mobile MyTouch</strong></li>
- <li><strong>HTC Tattoo</strong></li>
- <li><strong>Huawei U8230</strong></li>
- <li><strong>Lenovo LePhone</strong></li>
- <li><strong>LG Optimus</strong></li>
- <li><strong>Motorola CLIQ XT</strong></li>
- <li><strong>Motorola Droid X</strong></li>
- <li><strong>Motorola i1</strong></li>
- <li><strong>Nexus One</strong></li>
- <li><strong>Samsung Behold 2</strong></li>
- <li><strong>Samsung Captivate</strong></li>
- <li><strong>Samsung Galaxy</strong></li>
- <li><strong>Samsung Galaxy S</strong></li>
- <li><strong>Samsung Moment</strong></li>
- <li><strong>Samsung Vibrant</strong></li>
- <li><strong>Sony Ericsson Xperia X10</strong></li>
- <li><strong>Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini</strong></li>
- <li><strong>T-Mobile Pulse</strong></li>
- <li><strong>T-Mobile Pulse Mini</strong></li>
- </ul>
- <p>If you have any information about other Android phones that are or are
- not accessible, please let us know!</p>
- <div class="nav">
- <div class="nav_back"> </div>
- <div class="nav_up"><a href="index.html">Up: Android Accessibility</a></div>
- <div class="nav_next"><a href="enabling.html">Next: Enabling
- Accessibility</a></div>
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